African Kingdoms

East Africa

Ethiopian Empire (Abyssinian Aksumite Empire)

The Aksumite empire in
Africa was originally a Semitic Jewish kingdom based at Axum (from around
the second century BC), and founded, according to legend, by Menelik, son of
King Solomon of
Israel
and the queen of
Sheba.
It seems much more likely that it was formed in the second century BC by
Jewish settlers escaping from Elephantine in
Egypt after their
temple was destroyed, although there is evidence of a Semitic-speaking
presence from at least as early as 2000 BC. Surprisingly (or perhaps not),
a study in 2012 of the DNA of more than two hundred Ethiopians found that
their ancestors intermixed with either Egyptian, Israeli, or
Syrian populations around 1000 BC, precisely at the time that Sheba was
supposedly at its height, lending much-needed weight to the story of King
Solomon and Sheba.

The country is also known as Abyssinia, which probably originates from the
Egyptian name of Habashat. The name 'Ethiopia' is Greek, meaning 'burnt faces',
a collective name for all dark-skinned people south of Egypt, although this is
now disputed as the Book of Aksum, a Ge'ez chronicle first composed in
the fifteenth century, states that the name is derived from ''Ityopp'is', a son
(unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham who, confusingly, also founded
the city of Axum, according to legend. The Greek 'Aethiopia' was a
translation of the original Hebrew 'Kush'
which is generally used to refer to a kingdom to the north of what is know
recognised as being Ethiopia.

There is a strain of historical researcher which, acting possibly on an
Ethiopian nationalist basis, rather energetically claims Moses as the
earliest known figure in the country's history. Apparently he married
Tharbis, daughter of the unnamed king of Ethiopia, and she became pregnant
with their child (the sex of the child is not mentioned but the child itself
is claimed as the originator of a new dynasty of Ethiopian kings that
effectively creates ties between the kingdom and the Israelites more than
two hundred years before King Solomon). Support for this idea is claimed in
Jewish Antiquities by Flavius Josephus, and this writer certainly
does relate a story of Moses leading an Egyptian army against the invading
Ethiopians. He captures their capital at a city called Saba (which Josephus
places firmly on the banks of the Nile, clearly differentiating it from the
better known
Saba) and marries Tharbis (probably as a form of cementing a peace
treaty in order to preserve the captured city). However, Josephus states
that Moses consummates his marriage and then returns to Egypt (seemingly
without Tharbis). No mention is made of a child. The story itself is viewed
as being dubious, perhaps invented to explain a comment in Numbers 12:1 by
Miriam about marriage to a Cushite woman (prior to his marriage to Zipporah).
Historically, it seems much more likely that any Egyptian military thrust
southwards would have been aimed at the kingdom of Kush. Several other
conflicts between the two kingdoms have been recorded to add support to this
idea.

(The partial list of rulers is largely gleaned from sources and enlarged by
various notes. No two lists agree on early rulers, so this list is a compendium:
those which are only shown by Munro-Hay in green,
while those by Budge are in red.)

The
Philistines
sack Jerusalem in
Judah,
along with Arabs and Ethiopians, who loot King Jehoram's house, and carry
off all of his family except for his youngest son, Jehoahaz.

8th century
BC

An apparently indigenous proto-Aksumite state kingdom known as D'mt is
established in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, with its capital at Yeha in
northern Ethiopia. It is only briefly influenced by
Saba due to
the latter's hegemony of the Red Sea.

The Ethiopian highlands, a stretch of rugged mountain
territory in the modern country's north-eastern region,
have a history in terms of human occupation which dates
back millions of years

715 - 664 BC

Ethiopian/Nubian
groups conquer Egypt and found a ruling dynasty there.

from c.700 BC to c.650 BC

W'rn Hywt

King of D'mt.

Rd'm

King of D'mt.

S'rn Rbh

Son of W'rn Hywt. King of D'mt.

S'rn Lmn

Son. King of D'mt.

593 - 588 BC

Egyptian Pharaoh
Psammetichus sends an army south to fight the king of the Ethiopians (at
this stage an undefined area covering all peoples south of Egypt). Some
deserters remain and settle in Western Abyssinia, according to Herodotus'
'Land of the Deserters'. There appears to have been a large Jewish
contingent among them.

5th century
BC

The kingdom of D'mt falls. The plateau comes to be dominated by smaller
successor kingdoms. Few inscriptions exist from this kingdom, and very
little archaeological work has taken place there. As a result, it is not
known whether D`mt ended as a civilization before Aksum's early stages, or
whether it evolved into the Aksumite state, or was one of the smaller states
united by Aksum.

c.400 BC

Jewish refugees from Egypt
appear to settle in the area of Western Abyssinia.

In the fourth century AD the country was converted to Christianity
at the same time as the new religion was accepted into the Roman empire,
although a Jewish population, the Falashas, remained, and was still very
powerful, with its own kings, until it was broken by the Aksumites.

AD ?

Ezanas I

AD 50

The kingdom of Axum expands, reuniting the area and expanding southwards. Until the end of the sixth century, Axum is
considered to be one of the most powerful and prosperous kingdoms in the
known world, ranking on equal terms with
Rome or
Persia.

c.100

Zoskales

Possibly the 'Za Haqala' from the king list

c.200

Gadarat (GDRT)

Inscriptions mention his son
Beyga.

c.230 - c.240

Azaba / Adhebahs ('DBH)

Inscriptions mention his son
Girma.

fl c.240s

Beyga
/ Baygat (BYGT)

fl c.240s

Girma
/ Garmat (GRMT)

c.250

Sembrouthes

c.260

Datawnas (DTWNS)

Inscriptions mention his son
Zaqarnas (ZQRNS).

c.270 - c.300

Endubis

fl 290

Ella Amida
(I, II or III?)

early 4th cent.

Aphilas

Uzana

Could be another form of Esana.

early 4th cent.

Wazeba

c.320 - c.330

Ousanas

316

Frumentius is stranded on the coast and is taken to the court, where, upon
the death of the emperor, he is appointed regent by the new king's mother.

c.333 - c.356

Ezanas
II / Esana / Ezna / Aezanes

Son. First Christian convert.

c.333 - ?

Frumentius

Regent.

331

Frumentius converts the emperor to Christianity and is created
first Coptic Bishop of Ethiopia. This act leads to centuries of conflict
between the Christian and Jewish communities in Ethiopia as each vies for
overall control of the empire. Even so, Christianity in Ethiopia is still
only skin deep, being deeply influenced by the Judaism which appears to have been
established in the country over a thousand years previously. Between
331-1959 all Ethiopian archbishops are supplied by the Coptic Patriarchate
in Alexandria.

c.328 - c.370

Shizana

Brother of Ezanas.

350

According to traditional theory, the kingdom of
Kush
at MeroŽ is destroyed during an invasion by Ezana of the Ethiopian kingdom of
Axum. To contradict this, the Ethiopian account seems to describe the quelling
of a rebellion in lands they already control. It also refers only to the Nuba,
and makes no mention of the rulers of MeroŽ. The differing accounts would
seem to be the result of propaganda issued by both sides (very similar
messages are frequently issued in modern political statements), with one denying
the other's existence in order to legitimise its conquest. As no details of
Kushite rulers are
known after this date, their survival after this event is unlikely.

Caleb also wages war against the Falashas in a continuation of the long
conflict between the empire's Jewish and Christian populations. The Falashas
are eventually vanquished to an extent, but from their northern strongholds,
ruled by their own line of Jewish kings, they continue to strike against the
Christian south over the subsequent 400 years.

542 - c.550

Beta
Israel (House of Israel)

This is also
the Falashas' own name for their people.

c.550 - 564

Gabra Masqal

Son of Kaleb.

Anaeb

c.590

Ancient Nubia,
which stretches south as far as the Ethiopian uplands, is once more
brought into the orbit of the Mediterranean world by the arrival of
Christian missionaries. The kingdom of
Dongola
is converted to Christianity, as is
Alodia which is strongly influenced
by Axum at this time. However, after the work of the missionaries is
concluded, the region sinks back into obscurity, and only re-emerges in the
seventh century.

Alamiris

Joel
/ Ioel

Israel

Possibly a son of Kaleb.

Gersem
I

Ella
Gabaz

622 - 632

As the forces of the Prophet Muhammed creates the
Islamic
empire, Ethiopia
is encircled and begins nearly a thousand years of increasing isolation.
Decline sets in and records become extremely sparse.

c.625

Ella Sahem

Armah II

Iathlia

Hataz I

Possibly the same as Iathlia.

Wazena

Za Ya'abiyo

Armah III

?

Unknown.

Hataz II

Gersem II

Hataz III

from c.600

Kwastantinos / Constantine

Wasan Sagad

Bazagar?

Fere Shanay / Fere Shernay

'Adre'az / 'Adre'azar

'Akla Wedem

Germa Safar

Zergaz / Gergaz

Degna Mikael

Bahr Ikela

Gum

'Asgwomgum

Letem

Talatem

'Oda Gosh / 'Oda Sasa

'Ayzur

Reigned half a day and was strangled to death.

Dedem

Wededem

Wedem 'Asfare

'Armah

Degna Djan / Ged'a Djan

'Anbasa Wedem

Son.

to c.900

Dil Na'od

Brother. Last king of Axum.

c.980

In a conclusion to the long religious conflict in the empire,
Gudit, the head of a large tribal confederation known as the Agaw - which
includes the Jewish Falashas - leads an uprising which snatches the Axumite
throne, razes much of Axum itself, and destroys much of the ruling Solomonic
dynasty, replacing it with the Zagwe
dynasty.

As the state is sent into a minor Dark Age, one royal prince escapes to
hide in the south, in the distant province of Shoa, where his descendants
continue to live until the thirteenth century.

The Old Cathedral of St Mary of Zion was consecrated in the
fourth century by Ezanas and Shizana, and fortunately it
survived the fall of the kingdom of Axum around AD 980

Zagwe Dynastyc.AD 1030 - 1270

The Solomonic Dynasty was replaced by a Falasha dynasty which was
established following Queen Gudit's uprising and largely un-chronicled
reign. Although it is by no means certain that Gudit left any direct
successor, it is accepted that within fifty years of her death Ethiopia was
generally governed by the Jewish Zagwe Dynasty. This line converted to
Christianity well before the birth of Lallebella in circa 1140.

c.980 -
c.1020

Gudit

Falasha queen.

c.1030

Mara Takla Haymanot

First Zagwe monarch
of the Agaw confederation.

Tatadim

Jan Seyum

Germa Seyum

1117 - 1133

Marari
/ Mairari

Not widely recognised.

1133 - ?

Yemrehana
Krestos

Kedus Harbe

al.1160 - 1185

Harbay
/ Harbai

Half brother of Lallebella.
Not widely recognised.

1185 - 1211

Gebral
Maskal Lalibela / Lallebella

Exiled. Knights
Templers helped regain his throne.

1211 - 1212?

Imrahana Laab

Son.

1212 - 1270

Naakuto Laab
/ Na'akueto La'ab

Son.

1260 - 1268

Yitbarek
/ Yetbarak

?

1270

Naakuto Laab
is persuaded to abdicate the throne in favour of a monarch claiming
Solomonic descent.

Solomonic DynastyAD 1270 - 1974

The Christian Solomonic Dynasty was restored as a monarch claiming descent from the
single royal prince to escape Gudit's uprising was crowned.

1270 - 1285

Yekuno Amlak
or Tasfa Iyasus

Claimed Solomonic descent.

1285 - 1294

Yagba Zion
/ Solomon I

1294 - 1297

Bahr Asgad

1294 - 1297

Senfa Asgad

1297 - 1299

Qedma Asgad

1297 - 1299

Jin Asgad

1297 - 1299

Saba Asgad

1299 - 1314

Wedem Ara'ad

1314 - 1344

Amda Siyon
/ Seyoi I

1344 - 1372

Newaya
Krestos

1372 - 1382

Newaya
Maryam

1382 - 1411

Dawit
/ David I

1411 - 1414

Tewodros
/ Theodore I

1414 - 1429

Yeshaq I / Isaac

1429 - 1430

Andreyas / Andrew

1430 - 1433

Takla
Maryam

1433

Sarwe
Iyasus

1433
- 1434

Amda
Iyasus

1434 - 1468

Zara Yakob
/ Constantine I

1468 - 1478

Baeda Mariam
I

1478 - 1494

Eksender / Constantine
II

1494

Amda
Seyon II

1494 - 1508

Naod

1508 - 1540

Lebna Dengel
/ Dawit II / David II

Died exhausted by years
of conflict and defeat.

1520

The Portuguese,
represented by members of the Order of Christ (direct successors of the
Knights Templar in Portugal), finally manage to establish an embassy in
the country, although the emperor suspects their motives.

1528 - 1541

The Muslim Galla people from the emirate of Harar in the eastern part of the
Horn of Africa invade and conquer large areas of Ethiopia while allied to
the
Ottoman
empire.
Under the command of Ahmed Ibn Ibrahim el Ghazi (nicknamed Gragn, the
'left-handed'), the wild Somali troops, backed up by Arab mercenaries and
Trukish matchlockmen, rampage through the Christian highlands, killing
thousands and burning and looting as they go. They are defeated, with the
help of a contingent of 450
Portuguese
musketeers, at the Battle of Lake Tana.

1540 - 1559

Gelawedos
/ Claudius

Son.

1560 - 1564

Menas

1564 - 1597

Sarsa Dengel

1564 - 1580

Sarsa Dengel wages a seventeen year crusade against the Falasha Jewish population,
slowly destroying their powerful strongholds in the Simien mountains. The
Falasha king, Radai, is taken prisoner and accepts death over conversion to
Christianity. The Falashas begin to diminish from this point, from an
estimated population of 500,000 in the early 1600s to one of 28,000 in 1984.

1597 - 1603

Yaqob / Jacob

1603 - 1604

Za Dengel

1604 - 1607

Yaqob / Jacob

Restored.

1607 - 1632

Susneyos
I / Sissinios

1606

Although he is deposed by his brother, Sultan Abd al-Qadir of
Sinnar is a friend of
(soon-to-be?)
Emperor Susneyos I. At some point after this date, the deposed sultan is
appointed governor of Chilga (also known as Ayikel), an important trading
town near the Ethiopian border with Sinnar.

1607

Susynos launches a pogrom against the Falashas which sees twenty years of
butchery.

1618 - 1619

Relations with Ethiopia have been deteriorating since the reign of Sultan Badi I of
Sinnar as the Funj press
southwards up the Blue Nile to annexe the gold-producing land of Fazughli.
In this period major Ethiopian invasions designed to reclaim the valuable
territory and kick out the Funj are repulsed.

1632 - 1667

Fasilidas
/ Basilides

Described as
'the greatest king' of Ethiopia.

1632

Despite the help the
Portuguese
gave in saving the empire, the Ethiopian monarchs still do not trust their
motives and Fasilidas expels them, offering Turks at Massawa a bounty on any
Portuguese heads they can capture.

1667 - 1682

Yohannes
I
/ John I

1682 - 1706

Iyasu I the Great
/ Joshua / Jesus I

1685

Yeshaq Iyasu

Rebel.

1706 - 1708

Tekle Haimanot I

1707

Amda Seyon

Rebel.

1708 - 1711

Tewoflos
/ Theophilus

1709 - 1710

Nebahne Yohannes

Rebel.

1711 - 1716

Yostos
/ Justus

1716 - 1721

Dawit
/ David III

1721 - 1730

Bekaffa

1730 - 1755

Iyasu
/ Joshua / Jesus II

1736 - 1737

Hezqeyas

Rebel.

1744

Another Ethiopian invasion of the Funj sultanate of
Sinnar
takes place, part of the continuing problems between the two states.

1755 - 1769

Iyoas
/ Joas

1769

Yohannes II
/ John II

1769 - 1770

Tekle Haimanot II

1770

Susenyos II

1770 - 1777

Tekle Haimanot II

Restored.

1777 - 1779

Salomon
/ Solomon III

1779 - 1784

Tekle Giorgis I

1784
- 1788

Iyesu / Joshua / Jesus
III

1787 - 1788

Iyesu

In opposition to Iyesu.

1787 - 1788

Ba'eda
Maryam I

In opposition to Iyesu.

1788
- 1789

Tekle Haymanot

In opposition to Iyesu.

1788 - 1789

Tekle Giorgis I

Restored.

1789 - 1794

Hezqeyas / Hezekiah

1794 - 1795

Tekle Giorgis I

Restored.

1795

Ba'eda
Maryam II

1795 - 1796

Tekle Giorgis I

Restored.

1796 - 1797

Solomon
III

1797 - 1799

Tekle Giorgis I

Restored.

1799

Solomon
III

Restored.

1799 - 1800

Demetros / Demetrius

1800

Tekle Giorgis I

Restored.

1800 - 1801

Demetros / Demetrius

Restored.

1801 - 1818

Egwala
Seyon

1818 - 1821

Iyoas / Joas II

1821 - 1826

Gigar

1826

Ba'eda
Maryam III

1826 - 1830

Gigar

Restored.

1830 - 1832

Iyasu / Joshua / Jesus
IV

1832

Gabra
Krestos

1832

Sahla
Dengel

1832

Gabra
Krestos

Restored.

1832 - 1840

Sahla
Dengel

Restored.

1832

Egwale Anbesa

Rebel.

1840 - 1841

Yohannes
/ John III

1841 - 1855

Sahla
Dengel

Restored.

1855 - 1868

Tewodros /
Theodore II / Ras Kassa

Committed suicide.

1868

The king takes
European diplomats hostage. A
British
Expedition defeats him and Tewodros commits suicide to avoid capture.

The Egyptians are defeated,
and driven out of Eritrea at the Battle of Gundet in 1875, and the Battle of Gura in 1876.
Yohannes is killed fighting Sudanese Mahdist forces in 1889.

1887 - 1889

A 60,000-strong Mahdi army under the ansars enters Ethiopia. It gets as far
as Gondar, the former imperial capital of the Begemder province. The city is
sacked, and at the start of 1888 the
Sudanese occupiers set
fire to almost all of its churches, devastating the whole city. In 1889,
Yohannes marches on Metemma in Sudan, but is killed in battle. Ethiopia
withdraws.

1889 - 1913

Menilek
/ Menelik II / Sahle Maryam

Former king of Shoa
(southern province).

1889

Menelik moves the capital from Axum to Addis Ababa, and signs a bilateral
friendship treaty with
Italy
at Wuchale which Italy interprets as giving it
a protectorate over Ethiopia.

1890

The
Italian
forces adopt the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea - Erythra Thalassa - to
describe the territory they hold. In time the name becomes Anglicised as
Eritrea.

1893

Italian
forces push back a Sudanese attack on Akordat in Eritrea. The Sudanese are forced
out of Ethiopia
entirely by the defeat.

1896

The Italians are
soundly defeated at the Battle of Adowa. They retain control over Eritrea, to the north.

1913 - 1916

Iyasu
/ Joshua V / Lij Kifle Yaqub

Regent 1909-1913
(d.1935). Deposed.

1916 - 1930

Empress Zawditu
/ Askala Maryam

1930 - 1936

Haile Sellassie
/ Ras Tafari Makonnen

Regent Ras Tafari 1916-1930.

1936 - 1941

Italian
occupation follows a short military campaign in which mustard gas is used. Victor Emmanuel III of
Italy is styled 'Emperor of Ethiopia'.

1941 - 1974

Haile Sellassie
/ Ras Tafari Makonnen

Restored. Overthrown.
Died in suspicious circumstances in 1975.

1974 - 1991

The
imperial line of descent is broken as a dictatorship is established in
Ethiopia. This is the so-called Derg era.

Modern Ethiopia & EritreaAD 1977 - Present Day

Having suffered from a drawn-out period of post-colonial strife during the
twentieth century, Ethiopia today is not quite the country it once was. It
has a history that goes further back in time than almost any other in
Africa, and a population that is the second largest on the continent, but it
lost its northern region of Eritrea in 1993 following years of internecine
warfare. Denuded of a Red Sea coastline, the landlocked Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia retains its capital at the ancient city of Addis Ababa.
It is neighboured by the aforementioned Eritrea to the north and, beyond
that, Sudan and South
Sudan to the west and north-west, Yemen across the Red Sea, Djibouti and
Somalia to the east, and Kenya to the south.

According to legend, ancient
Ethiopia was founded by Menelik, son of Solomon of
Israel and the rarely-named queen of
Sheba. The
subsequent Aksumite empire,
based at Axum (Aksum) from around the second century BC, appears to have
been a Semitic Jewish kingdom that was formed at Axum by Jewish settlers
who were escaping from Elephantine in
Egypt after
their temple was destroyed. There is evidence of a Semitic-speaking
presence around Axum from at least as early as 2000 BC, so they seem to
have been settling amongst a related people, earlier colonists perhaps.
Modern DNA evidence seems to support a mixed
Egyptian-Syrian-Canaanite
heritage.

Throughout much of history Ethiopia has also been known as Abyssinia,
which probably originates from the Egyptian name of Habashat. 'Ethiopia'
itself is Greek, meaning 'burnt faces', a collective name for all
dark-skinned people south of Egypt. This is somewhat disputed, as the
Book of Aksum, a Ge'ez chronicle that was first composed in the
fifteenth century, states that the name is derived from ''Ityopp'is', a
son (unmentioned in the Bible) of Cush, son of Ham who, confusingly, also
founded the city of Axum, according to legend. Given the book's lateness
in terms of publication, its authority must be considered dubious.

Falling foul of colonial influence in Africa in the nineteenth century,
Ethiopia's kings were weakened by invasions by
Egypt,
Sudan, and
Italy.
In 1974 they were overthrown by one of their own, and a dictatorship was
formed. Retaining their claim to governance over Ethiopia, the
Solomonic emperors in exile
were originally designated by the Marxist Derg regime (in the case of Amha
Selassie) but were not and are not officially recognised by the current
government of Ethiopia. Successive claimants to the imperial throne are
shown below with a shaded background.

Eritrea, known officially as the 'State of Eritrea' since independence in
1993, occupies much of the territory of the ancient kingdom of Axum,
although not its northern extremes in Sudan or its southern extremes in what
is now northern Ethiopia. Its name is based upon the ancient Greek name for
the Red Sea - Erythra Thalassa - which was first adopted by the Italians in
1890 to designate territory that was then under their control.

(Additional information from The World Factbook, CIA, the
International Organisation for Standardisation, and Aksum: An African
Civilisation of Late Antiquity, Stuart Munro-Hay (1991), and from
External Links:
Ethiopian Famine (The Guardian), and
Imperial
Ethiopia.)

1974

A
military coup overthrows Emperor Haile Sellassie, replacing his authority
with the Marxist-Leninist 'Derg', a military junta that is led by Mengistu
Haile Mariam. A one party communist state is established, named the
'People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia' despite being anything but
democratic.

1974 - 1997

Amha Selassie / Asfa Wossen

Son of Haile, born 1916. Proclaimed in exile in
April 1989.

1977 - 1991

Mengistu Haile Mariam

Dictator.

1977 - 1978

Mengistu
Haile Mariam achieves control of the Derg in February 1977. He soon begins a
violent campaign of repression against his opponents, called the 'Red Terror'.
This is his response to the 'White Terror' of competing civilian groups who
also want control of the country. Mengistu has many of them arrested and
executed, and may be responsible for the deaths of several thousand other
Ethiopians at this time (a precise figure is contested).

Mengistu Haile Mariam is pictured here whilst receiving Fidel
Castro of Cuba on state visit to Ethiopia during a period of
the twentieth century in which weak, dictatorial communist
states sought comfort in perceived mutual support

Somalia launches an offensive into Ethiopia in July 1977 over the disputed
Ogaden region. Known either as the Ogaden War or the Ethio-Somali
War, little is achieved in the conflict other than the
USSR
and the
USA
switching their support of either faction as part of their own greater game
of political chess. A truce is declared early in 1978 after the Somali
retreat back across the border.

1983 - 1985

Widespread famine hits areas of East Africa, with Ethiopia being especially
hard hit. The worst famine to hit the country in a century leaves over
400,000 dead, but much of this can be traced back to Mengistu's human rights
abuses, an inflexible system that cannot cope with the disaster, and two
decades of civil war. The situation catches the attention of the West, with
pop culture figures such as Bob Geldoff and Midge Ure organising relief in
the form of 'Live Aid' and governments organising airdrops of food supplies.

1989 - 1990

Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen is proclaimed 'Emperor of Ethiopia' in exile,
having settled in London, by members of the exiled Ethiopian community. He
adopts the throne name Amha Selassie I. His wife also begins to refer to
herself as empress. In 1990 the royal family move to McLean, Virginia,
USA,
so that they can be close to the large Ethiopian immigrant population in
and around Washington, DC.

1991

The Derg falls and Mengistu flees to Zimbabwe. The EPRDF assumes power
in Ethiopia, forming a federal democratic republic, and the exiled monarchy
establish the Moa Anbessa - a movement that is designed to promote the
restoration of the monarchy in Ethiopia. During Mengistu's absence he
is sentenced to life imprisonment (in 2007).

Following the fall of Derg, Ethiopia quickly began to
modernise, with Addis Ababa now a mix of the ancient
and the very modern, especially in terms of public
transport

1993

Ethiopia's northern region of Eritrea achieves independence following a
UN-backed referendum. Ethiopia is now a landlocked state, and one which
exists uneasily with its new northern neighbour. The new 'State of
Eritrea' encompasses several former petty sultanates that had been
incorporated into
Italian
Eritrea in 1947. Many in the region had never fully accepted subsequent
incorporation into Ethiopia, and had fought for this independence. Now
they achieve international recognition. However, the EPLF soon seize
control and establish a one-party state that bans all political
activity and offers no elections.

1997 - Present

Zera Yacob Amha Selassie

Son of Asfa Wossen. Born 1953. Not recognised in
Ethiopia.

1999

Persecution of the Falasha has steadily increased, so the state of
Israel begins covert
airlifts of Falasha populations, taking them back to their homeland.
Despite attempts by the Ethiopian government to put a halt to this, the
airlift is completed by 1999 with all of the Falashas being removed to
Israel.